You’re modeling a digital manufacturing strategy around a use case of new product introductions (NPI), because the corporate emphasis is organic growth through a constant stream of new offerings. You want to understand demand as early as possible in the product life cycle, to continuously adapt your manufacturing and supply chain response for timely replenishment. You want digital enablement of production and sourcing, to track products through the chain and take needed actions.

The soccer powerhouse is one of many sports organizations that have committed themselves to a digital makeover, and they offer compelling lessons for digital manufacturing—leverage digitization to get near-real-time information on every corner of the business, then turn loose machine learning to predict what is likely to happen and prescribe the right strategy.

This leads to improving what EdjSports calls GWC—Game Winning Chance. The company worked with the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles, analyzing and simulating play data to help the team make decisions that increased its odds of winning. For business, that could be renamed CWC—Customer Winning Chance, doing the things that are most likely to gain market share and revenue growth.

For NPI, machine learning can crunch data on clusters of previous items with similar characteristics, then look at sales profiles of products grouped by shared attributes to inform the launch forecast calculation—not unlike analyzing and recommending in-game, down-and-yardage play calls in football.

Sports has also discovered the Internet of Things. Raúl Peláez at FC Barcelona worked in R&D at HP; now he heads Sports Technology, Innovation & Analysis at Barça, where he oversees a group of data scientists, game analysts, and engineers. They strap wearables to players during practice to track position on the pitch; machine learning assesses how their spatial decision-making affects the game.

Player field position is akin to inventory staging in business—placing the right goods at the right place at the right time to meet shifting channel demand and capitalize on each opportunity to move forward. Sometimes sports even dips directly into digital manufacturing: McLaren Racing brought a portable 3D printer to an F1 race. Digitized sports, like business, also wants to deliver an experience—capturing and analyzing a 360° view of fans for stronger engagement and a window into what customers want.

The changing face of the people sports are hiring points to the need for new competencies in digital manufacturing. The Houston Astros, last year’s World Series champs, feature a former NASA engineer as director of decision sciences; his analytics group works in an office nicknamed the “Nerd Cave.” One focal point for the team is using analytics to help players stay healthy—like analytics-driven predictive maintenance in digital manufacturing anticipates equipment needs to keep production humming.

In sports and business, it’s all about doing the right thing, fast. Digitization helps each advance toward the net—through an emphasis on data capture, data understanding, and data-driven prescriptions for a higher win probability.

This post originally appeared on Navigate the Future, the Dassault Systemes North America blog

No one understood or more succinctly described strategies and philosophies of war than the great Chinese general, Sun Tzu. Despite living and penning these words of wisdom almost 2700 years ago, leaders of today still apply the tactics described in the Art of War in in the technology-driven world we live in today.

Sun Tzu also said, “To know your Enemy, you must become your Enemy.” Now as a control engineer working for a reputable organization no one is advocating that you become a dark web hacker to understand the challenge you are facing when creating security for PLCs, but there is value at understanding who the enemy is and what their motivation and techniques may be.

When PLC’s developed in the early 1970’s replaced relays in control systems for automotive assembly lines and rapidly adopted and integrated across the industrial landscape security was entirely physical as there was no access to these systems outside a given facility. Times have obviously changed dramatically.

Advances in technologies involving M2M communications has given organizations access to massive amounts of data that can be translated into actionable information leading to better and more timely decision making. The rise of IoT has quickly brought access to this volume of valuable data over the internet. Machines can now be connected anywhere on the planet. This increased connectivity and access has also greatly increased the vulnerability of networks and the machines and PLCs utilizing them.

No matter what industry a Control Engineer is designing or developing a system with PLCs, security has come to the forefront and must be a top concern and consideration during all phases of design and implementation. So, who and what constitute the primary threats in the machine builder environment for Control Engineers utilizing PLCs? Here are some considerations:

New Threats

Malware has been the primary cause of most disruptive and destructive attacks over the last decade. Hacktivist would target an organization or industry based on their own beliefs with a goal of causing massive disruption and destruction. An often-cited example is the 2010 Stuxnet malware attack on the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran that resulted in the destruction of 1000 centrifuges. Over the past few years we have seen a rise in the number of attacks utilizing Ransomware to hold organizations as well as individuals sensitive or proprietary data hostage. Unless exorbitant payments were made the victim’s information or digital assets would be destroyed or leaked to the public.

In sports, the cheaters and dopers always seem to be one step ahead of the regulatory agencies trying to maintain a level playing field. The Academy Award winning documentary Icarus illustrates just how far individuals and states will go to cheat the system and stay ahead of doping controls. The same is true of hackers. It is much easier for any hacker to take advantage of the cracks in a new emerging technology than it is for an organization or industry to create impenetrable security measures.

These threats used to emanate mainly from small groups of hackers hiding in the shadows. Today organized crime groups and even state-sponsored action constitute the greatest threats. Syndicates have the money and the muscle to employ the most accomplished hackers on the planet, who are all available for a price. The proliferation of nation-grade malware has put these powerful weapons in the hands of individuals who can inflict as much harm as a rogue nation.

Change is Constant

Today, attacks tend to happen quickly and are relatively short in duration. Even though a breach can usually be eliminated swiftly, the fallout and damage can be more far-reaching and lasting. While attacks against infrastructure such as the electrical grid or water supplies could pose an imminent threat to human lives, those targeting consumer data can be equally as devastating. A company or industry’s reputation may never recover in the wake of such an event.

Markets and Industries are moving quickly. Companies are seeking to be innovators or disruptors and are racing to be first to market and are under intense pressure to perform. We are now in the midst of the rapidly emerging 4th Industrial Revolution and continue to see Moore’s Law on display as technology and innovation continue to accelerate at a dizzying pace. What constituted state-of the-art security in any industry 12-18 months ago can be woefully obsolete today.

Even though it may be impossible to eliminate all security breaches in systems and devices, machine builders can never rest on their laurels and have to remain proactively vigilant to maintain the best PLC security that can be incorporated into a design. These are the new battle lines in 21st century digital warfare. Sun Tzu said, “Invincibility lies in the defense.” How strong is your defense?

Security Factors:

Although it may not actually connect to the internet, a control system is unsafe. Contrary to popular belief, a modem connection could also experience intrusion and a hack.

Wireless networks, laptop computers, and trusted vendor connections could be other sources of connections in which people may be likely to overlook.

Keep in mind that the majority of IT departments are unaware of factory automation equipment, including CNCs, CPUs, PCBs, robotics parts and, last but not least, PLCs.

Piggybacking off of the last point, IT departments’ lack of experience with the aforementioned equipment, along with their lack of experience with industrial standards and scalable processes indicate that they should not be in-charge and responsible for a company’s PLC security. Nobody wants an annoyed employee to make inappropriate changes to a PLC’s communication highway.
Hackers do not necessarily need to understand PLC or SCADA to block PC-to-PLC communication. They absolutely do not need to understand a PLC or SCADA system to cause operational or programming issues.

Often times, control systems, including ones that many PLCs integrate with, use Microsoft Windows, which is very popular amongst hackers.

Some PLCs crash simply by pinging an IP address, like what happened at the Brown’s Ferry Nuclear Plant, which is located in upstate Alabama. Since the incident in 2006, the plant has undergone numerous security, operational, and management improvements.

In conclusion, when a security breach occurs, regardless of the specifics, understanding that time is of the essence will help smooth over most incidents. Trusting who has access to a control systems environment and thumb drive is crucial. If someone has access to the control system environment and thumb drive, ensure they’re well-qualified and up-to-speed with their team and/or company.

The main purpose of having Inventory is to buy time. If a customer expects immediate shipment when they order a product, and it takes more than a few hours to make that product, finished goods inventory will bridge the difference in time to match supply to demand. Similarly, when a manufacturing line needs a component, an on-hand supply of that component makes it immediately available, keeping the line running instead of waiting to procure the parts from the supplier.

Inventory can also be a buffer that compensates for the things we don’t know (forecast error, for example), and the things we can’t control – things like late receipt of materials, unexpected machine breakdowns or higher-than-expected scrap. Without some kind of a buffer, variability can cause stock-outs that disrupt production, disappoint customers, and erode profit margins. A little extra inventory can go a long way toward preventing the disruption – you won’t have to wait for a replacement if it’s already on hand.

Technology can replace inventory, or at least reduce the need for inventory, to “buy” time to keep the plant operating and keep customers happy. Technology can also reduce the risk of unpleasant surprises and provide earlier warning of impending disruptions so there is more time to take preventive or compensating measures. The primary way that technology contributes is through increased visibility.

Imagine a case where customers expect immediate shipment of a product that takes two weeks to build. You would need to keep two weeks’ supply of the finished goods on hand, plus some extra for demand variation. In addition, if demand changes radically, either up or down, it would take at least 2 weeks to adjust production to match the change. And if the product is suddenly obsolete (it happens!), you’re stuck with a considerable amount of obsolete product and partially completed product in-process.

If you could reduce the lead time from two weeks to one week, it would greatly reduce the amount of inventory needed as well as lower the risks posed by a large change in demand. Automation and in-plant technology including Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensors, modern Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES), robotics and smart equipment controllers are all significant contributors to manufacturers’ efforts to shorten production lead time. Also consider the impact of IIoT and location-aware technologies in providing detailed information on the status and location of incoming parts and materials, inventory status in remote warehouses and shipments en-route, and near real-time demand information that feeds more accurate forecasts and distribution plans. Together, these technologies can shrink time and help us make supply chains more efficient, more responsive, and more profitable.

IIoT and related technologies are just beginning to have an impact on supply chains that will continue to expand at geometric rates, changing the landscape of manufacturing, distribution and supply chains throughout the globe. Eventually, these industrial technologies will integrate with “smart” homes, cities and infrastructure components (airports, railroads, highways, utilities) to multiply the efficiencies and tie the supply chain even closer to customers and suppliers.

The first Terminator was destroyed in a factory by a hydraulic press—now parts of him have reappeared in a plant setting. Ford Motor Company is piloting an exoskeleton device to help assembly workers lift their arms above their heads more easily. That’s a big deal for assembly line workers, who can raise their arms doing overhead tasks as much as 4600 times per day—about a million times a year.

The upper-body exoskeletal tool, called EksoVest, elevates and supports the arms. The unpowered vest is designed to reduce the strain, and risk of injury, from high-frequency, low-duration tasks. It’s being piloted at two Ford U.S. plants, with plans to test in other geographies. It’s made by Ekso Bionics—fittingly, headquartered at the site of Ford’s Richmond, California factory that opened in 1931 and built the Model A, and where the physical effort to assemble the cars must have been punishing.

The vest supports the weight of the worker’s arms—so overhead work puts less strain on the shoulders and arms—by providing 5-15 pounds of lift assistance per arm when the springs are activated. The worker gets support for overhead tasks that don’t require tools, or for tasks needing tools that weigh up to about 8 pounds, like drill and impact drivers, torque wrenches, and paint sprayers or brushes.

This speaks to an important issue—as manufacturers move full-tilt to robotics for automation, we shouldn’t neglect efforts to augment the human workforce with assistive robotics in the interim, to moderate the demands of physical work. Even if it’s going to be a mostly robot future in automated manufacturing, the reality is that, today, there are still plenty of repetitive, taxing, physical tasks to be performed in the plants. It’s not only a productivity issue—health and safety are a big concern. That’s what got the union on board. “The health and safety of our membership has always been our highest priority,” said UAW-Ford Vice President Jimmy Settles. “With the proven success of the piloted locations, we look forward to expanding this technology to our other UAW-Ford manufacturing facilities.”

Ford heartily agrees. Between 2005 and 2016, the automaker stated that it decreased incidents leading to days away, work restrictions, or job transfers by 83%, to an all-time low of 1.55 incidents per 100 full-time North American employees. “Investing in the latest ergonomics research, assembly improvements and lift assist technologies has helped design efficient and safe assembly lines…” said Bruce Hettle, the automaker’s group vice president for manufacturing and labor affairs.

It might not have the pizzazz of the cinematic Terminator’s combat-hardened “hyperalloy” exoskeleton, but the vest is getting results. “My job entails working over my head, so when I get home my back, neck and shoulders usually hurt,” said Paul Collins, a line worker at Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant. “Since I started using the vest, I’m not as sore, and I have more energy to play with my grandsons when I get home.”

Effortlessly increase your productivity by embracing automation. Technology will keep your facility relevant as demands change, too. You’ll be able to maintain better production and increased efficiency with more automatic processes. Consider these options you have for integrating more automation into your facility.

Integrate Artificial Intelligence

While you may associate artificial intelligence, or AI, with science fiction, it stands to become an integral part of manufacturing. AI automates mindless processes that today require non-skilled labor. But technology constantly improves the processors, enabling AI to potentially conduct even more advanced tasks around a facility.

Though AI could turn the tide in manufacturing toward a more future-focused, high-tech field, operators seem loath to embrace it. Among manufacturing executives, 92 percent believe AI will increase productivity. But only 12 percent of businesses currently use the technology. While many fear losing employees, AI could help rather than hurt. With the current job shortage in manufacturing, AI makes workers more efficient. It also does not cost jobs, as many think.

In countries where investments in robots and automation are higher, job losses are lower. Germany put more money into manufacturing robots than the U.S. from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s. Yet, that country lost only 19 percent of its manufacturing jobs, compared to a 33 percent drop in the U.S. In most cases, there is little correlation between automation and job losses in manufacturing.

Prevent Problems with Predictive Maintenance

In addition to conducting low-skilled tasks, automation may make your equipment more efficient. Predictive maintenance uses information about a piece of machinery’s use to determine when it needs repairs before it breaks. For instance, preventive maintenance could lengthen the life of an air compressor up to four years, saving thousands of dollars.

Automating preventive maintenance makes it more likely the chore gets done. Knowing when to conduct this maintenance relies on more than a schedule. Information about the machine’s wear, age and use all play roles in how often maintenance should occur. Software designed to collect and analyze this data makes the task much easier. The program can even notify maintenance crews when they must conduct repairs before failure occurs.

Preventive maintenance programs can make use of the wasted 72 percent of data collected in manufacturing facilities. Unlike humans, machines can analyze this information in seconds. Thanks to this data, the machines can increase the uptime of equipment, boosting efficiency and productivity.

Upgrade to Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things

To enhance automation, you’ll need to embrace the Internet of Things, or IoT, which forms a basis of the next industrial revolution, Industry 4.0. What sets IoT apart from basic computer use, which marked the third Industrial Revolution, is connectivity. Interconnectivity relies on the intranet within a company and the greater Internet at large. By taking advantage of this connectivity, you’ll maximize the efficiency of automated machines.

The heart of connectivity lies in having the right equipment to send signals to and from equipment. Constant, secure connectivity is vital to having an Industry 4.0 facility. Saving on routers for supporting your facility requires investing in the right type. Software-defined WAN routers could save you up to 80 percent on WAN costs. Research this and other router options to determine the one to best work with the architecture of your system. You cannot have a connected facility without routers.

A potential side of this connectivity lies in its predictive nature. Indiana University researchers found algorithms could successfully predict trends in the stock market through Twitter posts. This same technology could allow connected facilities to predict the latest consumer trends and change production to meet the demand as soon as it hits the market. That reduces production of excess inventory, increasing efficiency.

Improve Productivity With Automation

Productivity in your facility starts with automation. Some robots are designed to work with people, which preserves jobs and reduces wear on employees. Automation also makes dangerous tasks safer for workers who can turn the jobs over to machines. While automation eases the jobs employees do, it also requires some considerations.

Thanks to the higher technology, employees must have more skills to operate the new machines. But, currently, potential employees lack these skills. In California, computer jobs outnumbered graduates by three to one. Consider investing in local training programs or offering on-the-job training for your new hires and current employees to help them adapt to the technology. In the future, you’ll need to hire more technically savvy employees.

Robots don’t need breaks and can work 24/7. Thanks to predictive maintenance, you’ll also reduce downtime from breakdowns of any machinery in your facility. The Internet of Things can send a message to your maintenance crew wherever they are when they need to repair or maintain machinery. If software needs updating, your IT personnel can do it remotely, thanks to IoT. Your facility will be more efficient when you automate production.

The Future of Manufacturing

The future of manufacturing lies in automating your facility, which will increase productivity while it benefits your employees. As more companies adopt this technology, the higher efficiency will become expected. Investing in automation will help your facility become as efficient as possible while remaining competitive in the future manufacturing field.

With increased value provided by edge computing to security improvements with Blockchain integration, IoT platforms across the board are just starting to get sexy.

The intelligent digital mesh is evolving and enterprises today are paying attention to the disruption and impact on business operations now and soon on the horizon. In this article, we look at new trends for IoT platforms in 2018 and what to expect as the year develops.

1. Pushing it to the Edge

The evolution of computing and cost efficiency has made commercial devices capable of running full-on operating systems and complex algorithms, right in the office. IoT platforms in 2018 are continuing to push for the fastest connectivity and that’s of course where the concept of Edge Computing, where workload is processed on the edge of the network where the IoT connects the Cloud with the physical world.

A key part of this sequence is the fast and effective integration between IoT and the Cloud, locating many of the processes onboard the devices themselves and connecting them with the Cloud for the most essential functions – ´Elementary, dear Watson.´ As machine learning algorithms evolve and advance the potential for Edge devices to take over a growing percentage of computing data, combined with its ability to increase local privacy by not exporting sensitive data to the cloud plus reducing latency from data requirements, in 2018 we will continue to see an increased momentum of companies adding business solutions requiring local, secure data analysis, and Edge Computing will be a key focus of that implementation, with the benefits of the cloud for increased security, easy scalability, design configuration, simple deployment, and management options.

2. Blockchain Getting Hotter

While BitCoin, LiteCoin and Ethereum had their best climb and large drop, back to slow climb again in 2018, it is also likely to be the year that this technology enters widespread adoption through increased usage cases in IoT. As more and more devices are continually added to the IoT network, blockchain adoption promises taking security for users and companies to better levels as the year progresses. The fact is that every system of connected IoT devices can use blockchain to safely and reliably organize, store and share transactions of data. Over this year, this technology is expected to play a key role in the widespan amount of industries that manage physical objects moving across the planet, which could benefit from the many advantages of blockchain script, shifting focus towards large scale deployments requiring reliability, stability and ease of integration with existing technology infrastructures. New pilot projects of positive use studies are emerging and blockchain technologies with IoT is a natural evolution that will drive adoption, making it one of the most significant trends for IoT software in 2018.

3. Beyond Blockchain

Of course, as more devices are connected and as IoT expands, security challenges will increase as well. There will be more IoT-related risks both on devices and on the cloud network as hackers work to extract sensitive data by compromising systems, presenting new levels of concern and challenges to overcome in security design on the global infrastructure and for IoT platforms.

4. Expanding Platform Offerings

Designers building IoT into objects and experiences need functionality for remote product management, monitoring, and control, and it’s the same for IoT business operators; they need data management platforms that integrates their diverse set of IoT-enabled business functions into easy-to-use business data they can leverage for managing the business, not manually sorting through a sea of bits of information. For functionality, they will increasingly choose IoT platforms that includes built-in applications that are tailored for their needs.

Edge processing naturally leads to consolidation. As more companies push processing and data analysis to the edge of the network in order to improve security, reduce network latency, and cut Cloud costs, it will become increasingly attractive for an IoT platform to offer additional services to distinguish itself from other enterprise offerings. The ensuing pressure of supporting both edge and core with a cost-effective model will force all but the largest and most innovative IoT platform providers out of the market over the next few years or to focus their offering on niche applications.

5. Commercialize IoT Data

Recent European guidelines coming out recognize what 45% of data and analytics decision makers at US enterprises are saying about commercialize their data – they´re already doing it. In France, only 35% of companies are doing it, and 38% in German enterprises. Seeing the opportunity to level the playing field, the European Commission will issue guidelines this year to encourage the use of advanced data mining technology to boost the data economy with the advancement of IoT.

6. IIoT Platforms Leaving IaaS Market

A part of ongoing consolidation and offering built-in applications for customers is that the major IIoT platforms have transferred at least some of their industry based or IoT-specific functions available through hyperscale cloud providers like AWS, IBM, and Microsoft. As these massive clouds extend their global reach, get clearance for compliance in a strict regulatory environment, and solidify their own IoT capabilities, this trend will continue to unfold.

Conclusion

IoT Platforms have an exciting year ahead for them as they adapt to the evolving environment of edge computing, blockchain and niche application support. The intelligent digital mesh is increasing in complexity and the security demands at all levels of the network is here to make the year even more interesting for software designers and platform engineers alike.

27For nearly 120 years, US based A. Zahner Company has been at the forefront of technology and innovation within the architecture, engineering and construction industry. Recently, the company implemented a cloud-based design system to improve communication in what is oftentimes a fast-paced, fragmented industry. Compass spoke with A. Zahner Company CEO and President L. William Zahner to understand how the company continues its success and innovation in a high-risk market.

A. Zahner Company is a family business. “That’s 210 families; one for each of our employees,” L. William Zahner, CEO and president, said.

Founded in 1897, the architectural engineering and fabrication firm began making decorative metal cornices for buildings. Now in its fourth generation of the Zahner family, it imagines, designs, fabricates and installs some of the world’s most innovative structures in cooperation with leading architectural practices including Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid Architects.

With a turnover approaching US$50 million, the company employs 30 design engineers; another 90 employees work on production and installation. “Combining experience, skill, technology and craft, we make the complex simple and get buildings built on time and within or below budget,” Zahner said.

The firm works on signature architectural projects where design intent must be retained, despite the inefficient complexities of what Zahner describes as, “a very fragmented AEC industry.” In this often unstructured environment, the company aims to reduce the building industry’s biggest challenge: risk.

RISKY BUSINESS

“What we do is highly risky because we make large-scale things that seem very complex and have never been made before in an industry well known for going over budget and into court,” Zahner said. To reduce risk and shrink project costs, the firm uses cloud-based 3D visualization to communicate designs and precisely define how those designs will be engineered and manufactured. “This reduces waste, labor, materials, weight and cost while improving quality,” he said.

Complexity is inherent in the firm’s need to engage with many diverse owners, partners, stakeholders, building contractors and interest groups, including city planners and regulators, even as it develops grander and more complex structures. Too often, Zahner said, perceived risk limits creativity and discourages innovation.

But by communicating ideas and plans visually through a digital representation over the cloud, the firm succeeds in explaining its vision in terms that anyone can understand, in any language and at all levels of expertise. This accords with the British government’s “Construction Strategy 2016-20” which states that improved relationships and engagements across clients and the supply chain are key to increased innovation and reducing risk while cost transparency and collaborative working deliver value for money outcomes.

Read the rest of this story here, on COMPASS, the 3DEXPERIENCE Magazine

Few things get the business juices flowing like platforms and ecosystems, with the raft of opportunities that follows in their wake. Transportation and mobility companies, along with blockchain providers, have taken a step toward creating this network effect with the Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative(MOBI), designed to promote standards and blockchain adoption in the mobility market.

A bunch of automotive heavyweights have signed on, including BMW, Bosch, Ford, General Motors, and Renault; on the blockchain side are companies like BigchainDB, Context Labs, Hyperledger, and IBM, among others. MOBI also includes technology providers, consulting firms, and technology startups, and has established relationships with other consortia, academia, and various agencies.20

Heading up the nonprofit is Chris Ballinger, former CFO and director of mobility services at the Toyota Research Institute. “Blockchain and related trust enhancing technologies are poised to redefine the automotive industry and how consumers purchase, insure and use vehicles,” Ballinger said, in a May 2 kickoff announcement. “By bringing together automakers, suppliers, startups, and government agencies, we can accelerate adoption for the benefit of businesses, consumers and communities.”

Blockchain provides a way to track transactions, goods, and events via a common digital ledger with mechanisms for consensus, authentication, and permissions. In a typical value chain, the parties record and maintain their own information. With blockchain, each transaction entry is linked via encryption, and the decentralized ledger is shared across the chain, reducing time spent chasing facts and figures.

It will be interesting to see how the consortium addresses data privacy, in light of recent issues with Facebook and Cambridge Analytica. Mobility services collect tons of data about people—who they are, how they pay, where they go—while blockchain’s claim to fame is secure transactions. Mobility will have to demonstrate to now skeptical consumers that blockchain can safeguard the jewels—personal information—and not just reduce friction in the transactions.

Supply chain is also key. Blockchain dangles the promise of each event and transaction being immediately network-viewable to all parties across mobility’s deep supply chains. Zero latency will help mobility services track goods and information, make achievable commitments, and see where they might need to adapt schedules or strategies to unexpected events or changed market conditions.

“From the handling of vehicle ID numbers and collision histories to the complex supply chains that lead to assembly lines and dealerships, blockchain offers new levels of data security and transparency,” said Teodore Lio, managing director and industrial and automotive innovation lead at Accenture.

Hats off to MOBI’s aspirations—launching a scalable value chain, through a simplified, standardized way of identifying cars, people, and trips and collecting payments, while exchanging and monetizing data without trampling property rights and privacy.

This post originally appeared on Navigate the Future, the Dassault Systemes North America blog

Additive Manufacturing or 3D Printing refers to the set of processes used for manufacturing physical objects directly from a digital model. It utilizes raw materials added one layer at a time, undergoing various processes to create a finished product without the use of tools and molds. This is distinguished by the following main elements:

Deposits – the way in which layers of materials are deposited (e.g.: fusion, sintering, and polymerization)

When you compare 3D Printing to conventional manufacturing technologies, this process makes it possible to produce parts of almost any shape, but with a shorter machine and tool line.

How do manufacturers benefit from 3D Printing?

The trend towards mass customization makes 3D printing an attractive option for businesses producing complex small or medium-sized parts. Currently, the most promising industries are aeronautics, space, and medical. More general uses are being developed in transportation, energy, and luxury consumer goods. Invariably, it will be utilized across all industrial sectors.

Economic Benefits

The simplicity of implementing Additive Manufacturing results in an overall reduction in time and costs associated with creating prototypes and small-series parts. Having the ability to produce spare parts on-demand and closer to repair sites also help to optimize the management of inventory stock levels.

The decrease in the number of production steps, coupled with assembly line reductions work to streamline the manufacturing process. Further cost savings are achieved when tooling requirements are reduced, such as the creation of thermal cooling channels when molds are required, for example. These gains help to create a finished product that takes less time to produce, utilizes new materials, and ultimately helps to design new geometries without a significant investment in assets.

Technological Benefits

3D Printing offers flexibility in manufacturing not easily achievable with conventional methods. For example, creating complex shapes such as lattices or other custom objects would normally entail a significant investment in time and costs. 3D Printing allows you to integrate functions, such as producing parts made up of multiple sub-systems, while reducing the number of assembly operations at the same time. Additionally, you can use and add new materials easily and quickly.

Environmental and Societal Benefits

The transition from mass production to mass customization allows manufacturers to implement flexible practices and improve their production capabilities. When you compare this to the Subtractive Manufacturing process where objects are constructed by subtracting (or cutting) unnecessary materials off a solid block, Additive Manufacturing adds (or deposits) only the amount of material necessary to construct that object. This reduces the consumption of raw materials, resulting in a more streamlined and localized production line and reduces the consumption of energy for lower carbon emissions. Moreover, you have the opportunity to better incorporate ideas from your user community, encouraging open innovation similar to what is seen in open-source software communities.

Ultimately, the benefits of 3D Printing go beyond economic, technological, environmental, and societal factors. Imagine having the ability to work with a network of suppliers and/or distributors to pool production resources and optimize material costs. Rapid prototyping can accelerate innovation and help businesses evolve towards a more service-oriented, collaborative approach. One in which the customer becomes a closely involved partner rather than just a number.

This article was written in collaboration with the Alliance Industrie du Futur.

Ask any engineer or designer about creating the next new thing, engineering it, and prototyping it, and they will tell you countless stories of trial and error before they succeeded making their ideas a reality. In the past decade, the internet has become an integral part of the design process and when it comes to finding the right commercial component for your design or selecting a trusted manufacturer to bring your ideas designed in SOLIDWORKS to life, the amount of content and service providers is endless. Finding what you need can be cumbersome and time-consuming.

We launched a new service to address this very need, and more: the 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace.

Our ambition is nothing shy of transforming the industrial world similar to the way companies like Amazon transformed the retail sector. 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace is an online e-commerce platform providing businesses worldwide with on-demand manufacturing and intelligent part sourcing capabilities. It is a global ecosystem of qualified industrial service providers powered by the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, and it connects designers and engineers with digital design, engineering and manufacturing service providers worldwide, streamlining interactions and collaboration and increasing productivity.

The 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace provides two services: Make and PartSupply, and you can access them directly from within SOLIDWORKS.

Marketplace Make is the most seamless way to get your parts made and collaborate with leading digital manufacturers online worldwide across all manufacturing processes: 3D Printing, CNC Machining, Injection Molding, Sheet Metal and more. Offered in two service tiers, Make Community and Make Enterprise, it features 50 qualified digital manufacturers with over 500 different machines to make anything.

Make Community is a public service accessible to anyone who needs parts made. Make Enterprise offers the same capabilities plus it enables purchasing teams to configure manufacturing providers taking established agreements and pricing into account as well as allows the inclusion of providers not publicly listed on the 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace.

Marketplace PartSupply is the most comprehensive and intelligent online 3D components catalog. With over 600 suppliers, all of which are trusted and recognized experts in their domains, it places over 30 million parts at the fingertips of every SOLIDWORKS user worldwide. It’s never been easier to find parts, compare them or search for parts using a geometric signature of a CAD Model. The best part is, with the integration into SOLIDWORKS Desktop, once the right component is found, one can simply drag and drop it in SOLIDWORKS.

The 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace is a game changer. It allows engineers to iterate and collaborate on design and manufacturing specifications, compare quotes from several service providers and pick the best option. It reduces risk and errors by ensuring that a part or product can be manufactured, while managing all aspects of transactions between buyers and sellers and providing full traceability. The 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace is pioneering a new way of doing business, driving innovation and introducing value in the industrial world.

I recently had the opportunity to talk with a few SOLIDWORKS customers about their experiences with the Marketplace. Take a look at what they have to say, and then visit the 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace | Make and 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace | PartSupply services to see for yourself!